Lent 1- Jesus is tempted in the wilderness
The orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann once said,
“We live as if [Christ] never came. This is the only real sin, the sin of all sins, the bottomless sadness and tragedy of our nominal Christianity” (Great Lent).
Lent is about looking at our lives and reminding ourselves that Jesus has come, and so we seek to returning to a way of life that acts like it. We re-evaluate our desires. We look at our fears. We ask the hard questions. Why do I want that? Will that really make me happy? Am I desiring the right things? Why is that bothering me? Why have I put my foot in my mouth again? … We ask ourselves about the state of our hearts, because our treasure will be there (Matt 6:21).
In the early church people who were preparing to be baptized on Easter spent time in intense spiritual preparation. It was a time of prayer, fasting, study, generosity, service, and renunciation of sin, as they prepared for their new life as Christians. … Christians (who were already baptized) realized that it was helpful to join those who were preparing for baptism at Easter, so they could re-dedicate themselves to Christ through a time of self-evaluation and spiritual discipline. This turned into the season of Lent.
The liturgical life of the church often reflects parts of the life of Jesus. Lent is a time when we remember Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry. So, we also spend 40 days (not including Sundays) in a kind of wilderness in preparation for Easter. … We see 40 all over the Bible, it is often connected to repentance, purification, or preparation. For example, we see the number 40 come up in the Noah story when it rained for 40 days to wash the sin from the world. Moses lived 40 years in the wilderness before God called him to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days to receive the Law from God. The Hebrews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years as they repented of their unwillingness to enter the Promised Land. … So Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness is a similar kind of preparation and testing before he begins his public ministry.
The first temptation the devil put to Jesus was,
In the early church people who were preparing to be baptized on Easter spent time in intense spiritual preparation. It was a time of prayer, fasting, study, generosity, service, and renunciation of sin, as they prepared for their new life as Christians. … Christians (who were already baptized) realized that it was helpful to join those who were preparing for baptism at Easter, so they could re-dedicate themselves to Christ through a time of self-evaluation and spiritual discipline. This turned into the season of Lent.
The liturgical life of the church often reflects parts of the life of Jesus. Lent is a time when we remember Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry. So, we also spend 40 days (not including Sundays) in a kind of wilderness in preparation for Easter. … We see 40 all over the Bible, it is often connected to repentance, purification, or preparation. For example, we see the number 40 come up in the Noah story when it rained for 40 days to wash the sin from the world. Moses lived 40 years in the wilderness before God called him to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days to receive the Law from God. The Hebrews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years as they repented of their unwillingness to enter the Promised Land. … So Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness is a similar kind of preparation and testing before he begins his public ministry.
The first temptation the devil put to Jesus was,
‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’
… Jesus was fasting for 40 days, so he is hungry, of course. It is interesting that the original temptation by the serpent towards Eve and Adam was also for food. That there might be a hint of that original temptation in this. … An important thing to note is that this temptation was not obviously towards doing something evil. Jesus is tempted to feed himself. There is nothing wrong with that.
When temptation comes, we should remember that the devil doesn’t come to us with horns, goat legs, and a pitchfork. Paul tells us that
When temptation comes, we should remember that the devil doesn’t come to us with horns, goat legs, and a pitchfork. Paul tells us that
“Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14).
It will be beauty, goodness, and pleasure that will tempt us. The twist is that we will be tempted to get these good things in a wrong way.
It seems like there is a temptation for Jesus to use his power in ways that don’t align with the Divine plan he received from his Father. The temptations start with “If you are the Son of God…”. He is being tempted to use his power to forge his own path outside the path the Father has set for him.
Jesus replies with Scripture,
It seems like there is a temptation for Jesus to use his power in ways that don’t align with the Divine plan he received from his Father. The temptations start with “If you are the Son of God…”. He is being tempted to use his power to forge his own path outside the path the Father has set for him.
Jesus replies with Scripture,
"It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"
He will not allow his bodily desires to be his god. Paul speaks about people who do this saying, “their god is their belly” (Phil 3:19). Jesus will not allow his hunger to get between him and God. … There are many who are willing to be ruled by their desires- who just have to have things their own way, or they get upset. This may be especially true about those who have great power. … So the first temptation is asking Christ if he is going to use his power to satisfy his own desires.
There may be something regarding order of these temptations. We start with the personal. Until we conquer our personal temptations we will never be able to handle public or political temptations. And unless we have conquered personal temptations, and public temptations, we will never be able to handle spiritual leadership temptations.
The second temptation comes when
The second temptation comes when
“the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours’ (Lk 4:5-7).
Caesar, the Roman Emperor, ruled over a massive territory from Spain in the East, to Iraq in the west, to Sudan in the South, and to the borders of Scotland in the North. This is an amazingly vast amount of territory to rule over, especially without the forms of swift communication we have now. Caesar imposed the Roman peace on these territories through the threat of the sword. … This is what Jesus is being tempted with. To become Caesar. To become a great political and military ruler. … This is not far off from the expectation of who people were expecting the messiah to be- A great military and political leader like King David. … For Jesus, this isn’t a sinful desire. His destiny is to be the ruler of the world. The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus is the “ruler of the kings of the earth”, and the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 1:5; 19:16). At the end of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18). That all sounds a lot like being given all the kingdoms of the world.
The obvious problem, again, is how he gets to this good thing. Worshipping the devil is not the Father’s plan for how he will become the ruler of the world. The devil is basically saying, “God wants you to be the Lord of the whole world, right? So we’ll skip this ugly cross business and get right to ruling the world. You can make people behave and believe the way you want. You can force people to worship you. You can force people to care for the poor. You can take the power of empire and use it to do what you like. … All you have to do is worship the devil (who probably looks like an angel of light).
But, Jesus won’t have it. Again, he is tempted to wander from the plan his Father has set for him. He is tempted towards becoming a king, which is his destiny, but to get there by bowing to the devil, by using the devil’s methods and weapons to gain power. Jesus replies with Scripture again,
The obvious problem, again, is how he gets to this good thing. Worshipping the devil is not the Father’s plan for how he will become the ruler of the world. The devil is basically saying, “God wants you to be the Lord of the whole world, right? So we’ll skip this ugly cross business and get right to ruling the world. You can make people behave and believe the way you want. You can force people to worship you. You can force people to care for the poor. You can take the power of empire and use it to do what you like. … All you have to do is worship the devil (who probably looks like an angel of light).
But, Jesus won’t have it. Again, he is tempted to wander from the plan his Father has set for him. He is tempted towards becoming a king, which is his destiny, but to get there by bowing to the devil, by using the devil’s methods and weapons to gain power. Jesus replies with Scripture again,
"It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him'" (4:8).
Jesus will become Lord as each human heart turns to him, as he wins them over with his sacrificial love. He wants to be the king we choose, not the king imposed on us. ... Jesus is tempted by the good thing, but that’s not the way to get it.
For the third temptation
For the third temptation
“the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you”, and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone”’ (Lk 4:9-11).
Jesus is tempted to extravagantly show his power in a way that would convince the religious elite of the temple that he is the Messiah. The temple courtyards were full of people, including the temple leadership, the important priests and teachers of the law. If Jesus jumped off the top of the temple and angels appeared and carried him down safely to the ground who could argue against him being the Messiah? This would be a public miracle that would match an obvious Scriptural reference. …
Again, Jesus is tempted by a good thing- people would come to see him as the Son of God, the Messiah. … Notice too that the devil is even quoting Scripture (Ps 91). Just because someone is quoting the Bible it doesn’t mean they are speaking God’s truth. This is why we have to be wise students of Scripture. … Yes, the goal of this temptation is once again a good thing, but it is the way to get there is the problem. It is forcing God’s hand to protect him by placing himself in unnecessary danger. It is a temptation to get God to conform to human will, which is the wrong order of things. The Father’s plan has to do with sacrificial, self-emptying love, not just for the elite, not even primarily for the elite. Jesus is to go to those who are on the margins of society- the sick, the lepers, the sinners, the poor. People were going to believe Jesus was the messiah because “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt 11:4-5). Jesus is not recognized as the messiah because he impresses the leaders with a miraculous sign (Luke 23:8). This has to be done according to the will of the Father. Again Jesus replies with Scripture, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'".
The Roman Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “the only way one can prove love is by making a choice; mere words are not enough” (Life of Christ). Jesus chose the way of his Father in every temptation. He didn’t just choose the Father’s goal for him, he also chose the Father’s way to get to those goals. And that is often what temptation really is. We desire something and we take a shortcut to get there. This is where we need to be on our guard. Where are you tempted to go outside God’s ways to get to something good? By doing so we dethrone God from our hearts. During Lent we are invited to look at every area of our life- is there any area of life where we have dethroned God? Where I have desired something good, but have rejected God’s means of obtaining it? During Lent we examine our lives and see what our choices say about our love for God. Who is sitting on the throne of my heart? Is there any place where our choices declare anything but our love for God we are called to reconsider that part of our life and repent- we turn back to God and cry out for help. To turn and make choices that declare our love for God. AMEN
Again, Jesus is tempted by a good thing- people would come to see him as the Son of God, the Messiah. … Notice too that the devil is even quoting Scripture (Ps 91). Just because someone is quoting the Bible it doesn’t mean they are speaking God’s truth. This is why we have to be wise students of Scripture. … Yes, the goal of this temptation is once again a good thing, but it is the way to get there is the problem. It is forcing God’s hand to protect him by placing himself in unnecessary danger. It is a temptation to get God to conform to human will, which is the wrong order of things. The Father’s plan has to do with sacrificial, self-emptying love, not just for the elite, not even primarily for the elite. Jesus is to go to those who are on the margins of society- the sick, the lepers, the sinners, the poor. People were going to believe Jesus was the messiah because “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt 11:4-5). Jesus is not recognized as the messiah because he impresses the leaders with a miraculous sign (Luke 23:8). This has to be done according to the will of the Father. Again Jesus replies with Scripture, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'".
The Roman Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “the only way one can prove love is by making a choice; mere words are not enough” (Life of Christ). Jesus chose the way of his Father in every temptation. He didn’t just choose the Father’s goal for him, he also chose the Father’s way to get to those goals. And that is often what temptation really is. We desire something and we take a shortcut to get there. This is where we need to be on our guard. Where are you tempted to go outside God’s ways to get to something good? By doing so we dethrone God from our hearts. During Lent we are invited to look at every area of our life- is there any area of life where we have dethroned God? Where I have desired something good, but have rejected God’s means of obtaining it? During Lent we examine our lives and see what our choices say about our love for God. Who is sitting on the throne of my heart? Is there any place where our choices declare anything but our love for God we are called to reconsider that part of our life and repent- we turn back to God and cry out for help. To turn and make choices that declare our love for God. AMEN
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